On Friday we reported that Windows Phone 7.8 might be here soon (finally). The signs were in a few upgrades to Nokia apps that required 7.8, and simply the fact that Microsoft indicated at one point that the update would arrive in early 2013.
Microsoft hasn’t shed any new light on the subject, but it still seems that January is the month that the official Windows Phone 7.8 upgrade will arrive. The latest confirmations come from a few different sources.
First, UK carrier O2 has now mentioned that they will have Windows Phone 7.8 available for customers by January’s end. Now Australia’s Telstra expects Windows Phone 7.8 to hit the Lumia 800 on January 31st with others to follow shortly after. O2 Germany has also indicated an “end of January” beginning to the roll-out of Windows Phone 7.8. Even Windows Phone Colombia has mentioned via Facebook that January 31st will be key for the 7.8 upgrade.
Of course all the information we’ve received is specific to carriers or individual regions at this point. Interestingly, US carriers have all been rather silent about the whole matter as well.
Bottom-line is that we are still without real word on when Windows Phone 7.8’s official roll-out will begin, but it is seeming more and more likely that the global rollout will begin January 31st. Of course “begin” doesn’t tell us when your specific region/phone will get Windows Phone 7.8. Hopefully the rollout won’t take much longer than February or March to complete.
The wait is almost over, though the importance of the update probably isn’t nearly as significant as it would have been in late-2012. Many of us in major markets are getting very close to the end of our contracts, and many users will likely jump ship as soon as they can to a newer OS, such as Windows Phone 8 or even Android.
What do you think of the long wait to get Windows Phone 7.8, should Microsoft have done a better job here or was it more important that they focus on other efforts instead?
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